This invention relates generally to a snowboard binding.
Known snowboard bindings, such as the one described in WO 00/76602 A2, have a base plate screwed onto the surface of a snowboard and two side plates extending upwards from the base plate. Two straps are attached to the side plates. One strap crosses over an instep of a boot and the other crosses over a toe area, the portion of the boot that can be inserted into the binding. In this disclosure, both straps are connected to the two side plates by tension cables and can be tensioned by means of a tensioning element, which winds the tension cables onto winding spindles. This allows the effective length of the straps crossing the boot to be adjusted. The tension cables are guided over the straps twice by forming two-sided loops and the tensioning element is attached to each strap.
In DE 91 13 766 U1 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,797, the straps are connected to the side plates by a ratchet mechanism and toothed belts and can be tensioned by means of the ratchet mechanism.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,123 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,423 (FIG. 13), it is known to use a single instep element that crosses over the shoe, instead of two straps. This instep element extends from the toe region to the instep region of the boot. This instep element is connected to the base plate by tension cables, which either completely cross over the instep element (U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,123) or are attached close to the side edges of the instep element (U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,423). In both documents, the tension cables are connected to a heel element (a so-called highback) that is hinged to the base plate so that it can pivot and that can be adjusted in length by suitable means such as a tensioning screw or an adjustable toothed belt. The actual tensioning of the tension cables is done by pivoting the heel element.
The adjustment of the position and thus, the effective length of the instep strap is cumbersome in practice, and either cannot be performed accurately enough or requires several adjustment steps. On the other hand, many snowboarders like to loosen the binding, i.e., the instep strap, after coming down the slope, but they still want the binding to be tight enough, e.g., for going up the slope in a chairlift, which is difficult to achieve with the known bindings described above, and then only after a very involved process.